Universal Preschool Research

We've compiled research regarding the education of children ages three to five,
inclusive of preschool, kindergarten and early education studies and put it all in
one, easy-to-find place. In this section, Preschool Research is right at your
fingertips!

1

Head Start or Dead End?The only "lasting impact" of the Head Start program is on taxpayers' wallets.Those too-clever-for-words folks over at the Department of Health and Human Services have yet again tried to put one over on us. Using the oldest PR trick in the book, they released information to the media that they hoped no one would notice - on a Friday when people are too busy thinking about and planning their weekends. And because the report is very politically embarrassing, DHHS doubled down and went public on a Friday before a long holiday weekend. So right before Christmas, on Friday, December 21st, we were hit with the results of the third and final phase of the federal government's Head Start study. (Established by Lyndon Johnson in 1965, Head Start is the pet project of the early education crowd, which consists of spendaholic types aided, abetted and financed by the teachers unions, which love nothing more than expanding their roster of dues paying members. And President Obama is complicit member of this unholy alliance.)by Larry SandJanuary 2, 2013[More Results from unionwatch.org]

Let's Walk before We Run: Cautionary Advice on ChildcareOttawa and the provinces should use their spending powers to ensure access to reasonable quality childcare programs for "at risk" children, rather than launch universal childcare, says a Commentary released today by the C.D. Howe Institute.Childcare programs targeted on disadvantaged families could generate significant benefits, says the paper, Let's Walk before We Run: Cautionary Advice on Childcare, by John Richards, Professor, Public Policy Program, at Simon Fraser University and Matthew Brzozowski, Assistant Professor, Economics, at the University of Western Ontario. While studies show childcare programs benefit children from low-income or single-parent families, who are likely to be disadvantaged in terms of preparation for formal schooling, the net benefits for children from stable, middle-class homes are doubtful, according to the study. Why do "at risk" children clearly benefit? Evidence from US studies suggests that benefits are a function of the gap between the quality of the childcare centre and the home as a learning environment.by John Richards and Matthew BrzozowskiAugust 11, 2006[More Results from C.D. Howe Institute [pdf]]

Is Universal Preschool Beneficial? An Assessment of RAND Corporation's Analysis and Proposals for CaliforniaAlmost two-thirds of California families currently choose to send their 4-year-olds to preschool.Of those who do, almost half choose a preschool program operated by the state of California, while the other half choose a privately operated preschool.If Proposition 82, an initiative on the
June ballot, is implemented those figures will radically change. Most family- and other privately owned
preschools will vanish, replaced by government-run, taxpayer-funded preschools. This report assesses RAND Corporation's cost benefit analysis and finds that it significantly
overestimates the upsides and drastically underestimates the downsides of universal preschool and
the California proposal. Using RAND's own data and alternative assumptions based on the studies they reference, it is easy to demonstrate that universal preschool generates losses of 25 to 30 cents for every dollar spent.by Christopher F. Cardiff and Edward StringhamMay 30, 2006[More Results from Reason Foundation [pdf]]

Parents go to school on giving kids a good startPolice take up the cry to get all 4-year-olds into preschool.
The situation in San Leandro is not unique. A statewide survey of publicly funded preschool programs found anywhere from 20,000 to 50,000 children waiting for slots in either Head Start, state preschool programs or general child care - all of which serve low-income families.

Do Pre-K Center Care Programs Work?A number of states have initiated, or are in the process of initiating, free pre-K center care programs for children from low-income families.In the case of Smart Start and Kid Stuff, the states estimate that when fully implemented, these programs will cost in excess of $300 million per year.